


All At Once My Heart Took Flight

by Chash



Series: That's Gonna Leave a Mark [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 11:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11057769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: Bellamy notices the girl's soulmark right away, as soon as he starts arguing with her. It's the matching one on his arm that escapes his notice.





	All At Once My Heart Took Flight

**Author's Note:**

> Technically a prequel to the Minty but whatev.

Bellamy does notice the girl's soulmark when he's yelling at her, in a fairly absent way. He can't see the whole thing, but soulmarks have a different quality from regular tattoos, this _feeling_ when you look at them. It doesn't really _matter_ , of course, that this blonde girl who's wrong about the _Star Wars_ extended universe has a soulmark; it doesn't have anything to do with him. But it's still all golden and shiny and distracting, and he can't quite keep his eye off it.

"Listen--"

"No, _you_ listen," she says, jaw working. "I'm as pissed as you are that parts of the EU are no longer canonical, but they're not _not_. That means that any questions referring to current canon _aren't_ about the EU."

"But Thrawn is still in the canon. He's in _Star Wars: Rebels_ \--"

"None of his actions after _Return of the Jedi_ are canonical. _Rebels_ and the new novel take place _before_ the original Thrawn trilogy."

It's not only a good argument, but is, honestly, kind of hot. Bellamy never had the opportunity to find out that cute girls arguing with him about the _Star Wars_ canon was a thing for him, but if he'd thought about it for more than about ten seconds, he certainly would have known. 

The girl is still looking pissed, though, arms crossed over her chest as she glares at him. The stance makes her soulmark even more noticeable, shifting the neckline of her tanktop so Bellamy can see almost the whole crown. It's pretty.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't actually know my trivia," she adds. "I wouldn't be running a geek trivia night if I didn't know what I was talking about."

"Wait," he says. "That's not--"

Miller, who'd been silently watching and probably judging both of them, holds up his hand, and both Bellamy and the girl snap their attention to him. Somehow, the combined force of their glares does nothing to faze him, which should have been a major clue that something big was up.

"Hey," he says, voice careful, pitched for maximum impact while still remaining _so casual_. He's such a fucking drama queen. "Did you guys know you have matching tattoos?"

It's hard for Bellamy to pin down any of his emotional reactions to the statement, they come so fast. His eyes drop back to the soulmark on the girl's chest, eyes roving over it, taking it in as _his_. There must be one like it somewhere on _him_ that Miller can see, and that's--

The girl follows his gaze down and she startles at the sight. Her eyes fly back up to him, full of something that looks like rage, and he finds himself holding his hands up.

Which brings his own arm into the periphery of his vision, and there it is, the crown on his right bicep, just under the sleeve of his t-shirt, and he gets distracted from whatever he was going to say to her.

"Holy shit," he says, and to his relief, she laughs.

"Holy shit," she agrees, and offers her hand. "I'm Clarke."

"Bellamy."

"Go sit down and finish the round, Bellamy. I don't care if you're my soulmate, I'm not giving you the point."

He lets out a surprised laugh. "That is honestly the best evidence I can think of that you _are_ my soulmate," he says, and she flashes him a grin and taps his arm.

"Aside from the obvious."

"Aside from that, yeah. I'll, uh--we can talk after?"

"Yeah," she says. "Count on it."

*

Bellamy had thought about his soulmate, of course. Everyone has, he assumes. It's an idle thought, nothing that bothers him. He's twenty-seven, which just isn't very old. He wasn't worried his soulmate was never coming or anything like that. And if they never did come, he thought he wouldn't mind too much.

But now here she is, and he can't stop looking at her.

It is, at least, completely understandable. Clarke keeps catching him at it, but she's catching him because she's looking at him too. He's her soulmate, and they've barely even talked yet. Of course they're staring at each other.

"Dude," says Murphy, snapping at him. " _Dude_. I know she didn't give you the points, but don't let it ruin your game."

"Yeah, no, he's done," says Miller. "She's his soulmate."

Murphy and Echo blink at him, and Bellamy raises one shoulder, turns so they can see the mark on his arm. "She's my soulmate," he agrees.

"Figures," says Murphy. "First thing you do with your soulmate is get into a screaming fight about _Star Wars_."

"Your soulmate _stole your fucking wallet_ ," Bellamy shoots back.

"Yeah, she's the best."

He rolls his eyes, but does manage to get most of his attention back to the actual trivia. This is their first night trying it out, and it _does_ seem like it's going to be a good fit, even aside from the obvious soulmate angle. The questions are fun, challenging without feeling impossible, and the overall atmosphere of the bar is cool, laid back and clean without feeling alienatingly upscale.

And, again. His soulmate is here.

They come in third, and Clarke gets a table of her own once she's gotten all the business of trivia sorted out. His friends are sticking around to get another round too, but he's pretty sure they'll forgive him for bailing.

"I'm going to--" he starts, jerking his head, and Miller rolls his eyes.

"Ditching us for a hot chick, huh?"

"You know me," he says. "Totally shallow." He finishes what's left of his beer in one long chug and puts it down on the bar. "Okay. Wish me luck."

"She's your soulmate," Miller points out. "She's required to like you."

"Here's hoping."

She smiles when he approaches the table, and it seems genuine. Which it probably should be; Bellamy doesn't feel like he should be a disappointment, as far as soulmates go. He's pretty attractive, and the whole trivia argument thing might be a problem for some people, but Clarke seems into it. He's intelligent, has a good job, and the years he spent raising his sister seem to appeal to people. Which he does get; he's into guys who are good with kids too.

"Hi," says Clarke.

He slides in across from her, offering a smile of his own. "Hi. Good job with the questions."

Her mouth twitches. "Even the ones you didn't agree with?"

"I accept your reasoning for the Thrawn thing. And it wasn't--I know guys are dicks about this with women, but I would have gotten in the exact same argument with you if you were a guy. I swear."

"Yeah, I was watching you bicker with your friends after. I'm thinking you might just be like that." 

"I'm definitely like that, yeah." He considers her across the table. "I assume you're into it. You're my soulmate."

"Yeah." She makes a face. "It's weird, right?"

He laughs. "Yeah, so weird. I keep wanting to ask if you've ever done this before, but I know you haven't."

"Nope. You're my first and only soulmate."

It is kind of awesome. "Same, yeah. So--college? Out of college? How old are you?"

She laughs. "What, are you worried about cradle-robbing?"

"Just curious."

"I'm twenty-three. You?"

"Twenty-seven."

"Cool. What do you do?"

"Teacher. High-school history. You?"

"I'm in grad school. Social work."

"Huh. How did you get into that?"

"I was doing pre-med, and it was fine, but not great fit, I guess? I want to help people, but I didn't really want to be a _doctor_. I know that social services are kind of a mess, so I want to get involved and maybe start working on improving the system. Foster care adoption, all that."

Bellamy feels a lump in his throat. "Yeah, that makes sense. My, uh--my mom died when I was seventeen, I ended up getting emancipated so I could take my sister. We had some really bad social workers, over the years."

"I bet. How old is your sister?"

"Seven years younger than I am, so twenty right now."

"In college?"

"Yeah, at UMASS."

Clarke nods. "Is that where you went too?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Not to be that rich girl, but Yale."

"Jesus, really?"

"Yeah, I know. My mom went there, and my grandfather, and they give money, so I'm, like--a huge legacy."

"Wow."

"I try not to be an asshole about it."

"It's the least you can do." He shakes his head. "Sorry, just--having trouble believing my soulmate is a Yale legacy. That's, like, really rich."

"It's _so_ rich," she agrees. "I used to feel weird about it, but now I'm just trying to own it. I'm privileged, I get it. I'm very lucky."

"It must be so hard when you have so much money it makes it awkward to tell people about it," he teases, and she laughs.

"Thanks for understanding. There's nothing worse than being a rich white woman."

"Rich white man."

She considers. "And it would be even worse if I was straight."

"Definitely." She's still looking a little defiant, so he takes a deliberate sip of water and adds, "I assume you're bi or pan, or you'd be a lot more pissed about me."

"Bi."

"Me too."

That relaxes her again, and he feels so cool that he can do that already. Maybe it's a soulmate thing. "Awesome. What kind of history do you teach?"

*

They get another round andbsplit a plate of chili fries and chat, and after an hour Bellamy knows he really _likes_ Clarke Griffin, but doesn't really have much of an idea of how to proceed. He has dated people before, but that was always fairly straightforward: they were attracted to each other and knew they weren't soulmates. They'd have a good time for a few weeks or months and then it ended. 

It seems weird to date his _soulmate_ , but it's not as if he knows what else to do with her. 

"So, this is weird," says Clarke, when they're lingering outside the bar, and he laughs.

"So fucking weird."

"I assume it stops being weird at some point. Billions of people have figured out how to be soulmates."

"Yeah."

She bites the corner of her mouth. "Can I kiss you?"

He swallows hard. "If you want, yeah."

At his expression, she laughs and winds her arms around his neck. "It's not a _test_ , Bellamy. Of course I want to."

"Good. Me too." And then, because she hasn't done it yet, he leans down to press his mouth against hers.

It's not fireworks. It's not his entire life slotting together. At first, it's just a kiss, firm and dry, a little awkward.

Then she tugs him closer and it's a _good_ kiss, her mouth moving with his, hitting the perfect rhythm almost at once, and he has to remind himself they just met and are _in public_ , or he's going to do something inappropriate.

So he pulls back, gets to watch her eyes open slowly and her smile bloom. She's _gorgeous_. And she's his.

"Okay, good," Clarke says, biting her lip. He nearly kisses her again right then. "I thought that would be good."

"Glad we cleared it up," he teases, but his voice is rough. "Are you going to the train?"

"Yeah. I'm in Davis."

It makes sense, if she's at Tufts, but he still pulls a face. "I'm in JP."

Clarke considers this. "Orange Line or Green Line?"

"Orange Line." 

"That's something." Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. "So--I need to get home. I've got an early class tomorrow."

"I teach high school, every morning is an early morning."

Her mouth tugs up. "Sucks to be you. Downtown Crossing?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

She slides her hand into his as they walk, and he has to wonder if it's always like this. If everyone gets their soulmark and meets their soulmate and feels like there's some bright, glowing thing that's too big for their chest. If everyone can't believe they're this lucky, when they find out. 

And, of course, the part of him that thinks too much can't help wondering how much of it is _real_. If Miller hadn't seen the marks, would he still like her this much, or would he--

The thought makes him laugh, and Clarke cocks her head at him. "What?"

"Just thinking if we had our marks somewhere weird, we'd probably still be arguing about the _Star Wars_ extended universe." 

"I think we actually agree about the _Star Wars_ extended universe," she muses. "But, yeah, we would have kept at it for hours. And then I would have won, you would have offered to buy me a drink--"

"Wow, you're giving me way too much credit. I would have come back every week to pick a new fight so I'd have an excuse to talk to you. At some point, Miller would have gotten fed up and told me to just make a move, and then I'd stop talking to you because I didn't want him to be right."

She laughs. "Okay, yeah. That sounds more realistic. But you're my soulmate, so you can just talk to me whenever."

"I need your number," he points out, and she lets go of his hand so they can trade phones. Hers is newer than his, and nicer, but she doesn't seem to care that he's poor, so he tries not to let it bother him either.

"Now you can talk to me whenever," she says.

"Now I can."

They're going on different trains, so they have to part ways. Bellamy wants to not mind, but part of him does wish he could follow her home. Not to get laid, necessarily, just--he already can't get enough of her.

She anchors her hands in his shirt and tugs him down for one more kiss, not as long or as deep as the first, but full of promise. 

"Have a good night, Bellamy," she says, and he knows his expression must be incredibly goofy.

"You too."

He spends about half the ride back trying to figure out what to text her, and finally settles on just that: _I feel like I should be texting you, but I don't know what to say_.

She replies after only a few seconds, _Good timing, a drunk guy just sat two seats down and is trying to talk to people, I was about to text you so I'd look busy_ , and then it's easy again.

Maybe that's how the soulmate thing is going to be: he'll feel awkward right up until he just talks to Clarke, and then once he does, everything will be fine. He can live with that.

Miller's on the couch playing games when Bellamy gets back, and Bellamy flops down next to him, closing his eyes.

"How is she?" Miller asks.

"Perfect."

"That's good, right? She's supposed to be."

"Yeah," he says, and lets himself smile again. "It's fucking amazing."

*

 **Clarke** : So I need some help here  
I want to hang out this weekend  
But I don't want to look too desperate  
I'm trying to play it cool

Okay never mind, I'm officially not playing it cool  
Please respond to my texts  
I worked really hard on those, Bellamy  
I wrote drafts

Bellamy can't help feeling a little amused at the messages, even if he's guilty too. He doesn't tend to look at his phone during school, which Clarke probably could have figured out if she thought about it, but it's kind of cute that she didn't. And that she was stressing out. It's nice to not be the only one.

 **Me** : I'm a teacher, remember?  
I can't stop my lecture because I got a text from my soulmate  
What do you want to do this weekend?

 **Clarke** : Oh  
Yeah, that makes sense  
I don't know  
I googled "what do soulmates do" and it wasn't helpful

 **Me** : Aren't you younger than me?  
Shouldn't you be better at google?

 **Clarke** : What are you googling?

 **Me** : "Date ideas for soulmates"  
But they all suck so never mind

 **Clarke** : What are they?

 **Me** : Ice-breaking games  
Group dates  
Most of them are about meeting new people to find your soulmate, not what to do when you have them

 **Clarke** : We're probably supposed to be better at this

 **Me** : Probably  
What do you usually do on weekends?

 **Clarke** : Homework  
Sketching  
Watching Netflix  
Do you want to come hang out on my couch with me?

 **Me** : That sounds awesome, actually  
I'll bring my grading  
I can buy you dinner or something

 **Clarke** : I'm rich, remember?  
Don't waste your money on me

 **Me** : So you're buying me dinner?

 **Clarke** : I'm hoping you're going to put out

It's not a surprise, of course; they're soulmates, they're attracted to each other, he's definitely been _thinking_ about getting laid. But it's still a little exciting to see confirmation from her, even as a joke.

He's hoping a lot of his weekend is going to be spent making out on his soulmate's couch, honestly. In addition to getting to know her better.

 **Me** : Depends on what you get me for dinner  
When should I come over?

*

Clarke has a one-bedroom apartment about five minutes' walk from Davis station, which is the most physical evidence Bellamy has seen so far that she's really stupidly rich. One-bedroom apartments already feel like a pipe dream to him, let alone one so close to public transportation.

It's not a huge place, though, and that makes him feel a little better. The kitchen and the living room are just one big room, and then her bedroom is tucked off in a corner, next to the bathroom and a closet. It's kind of a wreck, but in a cute way. It mostly comes across like she just has so much to do, it erupts all over the rest of her life.

She still glares as she sees him looking around. "I thought about cleaning up, but you're my soulmate, right? You should know what you're getting into."

"It's nice," he says, smirking, and she elbows him in the ribs.

"Don't be a dick."

"If I can't say your place is nice then I'm really out of options. Seriously, though," he adds. "I'm definitely going to end up cleaning and reorganizing the entire place pretty soon, but I like it. I get to see basically everything you own, so--"

"Shut up," she says, laughing. "Are you hungry? Do you want anything to drink?"

He hesitates for a second, but she's still smiling, and she's his soulmate, so he catches her by the hips and tugs gently, and she comes, and when he leans down to kiss her, she's already leaning up. 

Trivia was on Wednesday, so he hasn't seen her for two whole days, which he knows isn't very _long_ , but it feels like he got kind of cheated the first time. He barely had any time with her at all, and the kiss helps. It's a little odd, how comfortable he already feels with her, the way her touch grounds him, but this is probably how it's supposed to be. She's his soulmate, after all. It's supposed to be good.

Her arms slide around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair, but the kiss stays fairly chaste, the two of them feeling each other out, learning how they fit together. When Bellamy finally does pull back, he's grinning, and Clarke is too, and he rests his forehead against hers.

"I could use some water," he says, and she laughs.

"Wow. You're a real charmer, huh?"

"You seem pretty charmed," he shoots back. 

"I never said I had good taste." She threads her fingers in his and tugs him to the couch. "Get comfortable," she says. "I'll get you some water."

*

He stays the night, but they don't actually have sex. It's tempting, but after a whole day with her, he actually feels more like taking it slow. He's barely been interacting with her in-person for twenty-four hours, and they have plenty of time. 

They're soulmates, after all.

So he just wraps himself around her and buries his nose in her hair, lets himself drift off with the feel of her pressed up close. It's been a while since he had anyone to share a bed with, and even longer since he had anyone to share a bed with he liked so much.

And he's never had a soulmate before. Every other relationship he's had, he's known that that wasn't _it_. That he probably had a soulmate out there, some other person he was meant for. And at times, he'd resented the feeling, didn't like that some mark on his skin was going to show up and just decide whom he was supposed to be with.

But the mark picked Clarke. And that, at least, is worth celebrating.

When they wake up, he finds her fridge is severely lacking in _anything_ , and he insists on going to the store and buying stuff so he can cook for her.

"You didn't tell me you could cook," she says, vaguely accusatory.

"What, would you not have bought me dinner if you knew?"

"I do kind of want to see what you'd do for dinner."

He wheels the cart over to the meat section. "I could do dinner. I'm assuming this is brunch. Do you have a waffle iron?"

"Do I look like I have a waffle iron?"

"You're rich, I assume you have all the fancy kitchen stuff."

"My parents have fancy kitchen stuff they never use. I just order takeout."

"Jesus, that's such a waste. You can just buy me groceries and I'll cook for you. You'll still save money."

"It's probably easier for me to come to you most of the time," she muses. "I'm at the hospital a lot, that's on the Orange Line. So I can come to you after work."

"Yeah, Miller won't mind."

"Miller?"

"Roommate. The guy who saw our soulmarks."

"Oh, yeah," she says, looking a little disappointed. "Roommates."

"Like I said, he won't mind. Just chip in for groceries and don't take too long in the shower."

"I can probably do that." She worries her lip, leans against him just a little. "It's not too much, right? I don't have to--"

He kisses her hair. "Not too much. It saves me having to come out to Cambridge." 

"And you don't have to resist the urge to clean my apartment."

"That's still happening." He gives her a quick final squeeze. "Okay, pancakes for brunch, chicken for dinner. You want dessert? I'm going all out."

"You know I'm your soulmate, right? You don't have to impress me. I'm already impressed."

"We've known each other for five days, I'm going to wait at least a year before I stop putting any effort into this relationship. How about cupcakes? I can bring the rest in to school tomorrow."

"Cupcakes sound good," she says. "I can even help."

"Yeah?"

"I should start pulling my weight as a soulmate at some point, right?"

He laughs. "You should. Go get some eggs."

*

Clarke has a class at the actual Tufts campus in the morning, which means it doesn't really make sense for her to come home with him, and he doesn't have any work clothes, to say nothing of how early he'd have to wake up to make it to school on time from here.

Still, he wishes that she could come with him, or he could stay.

"When do you get home from work?" Clarke asks. She's got him pressed up against the door and keeps kissing him, which just makes it harder to get up the motivation to go anywhere.

"Usually around four," he says. "No clubs or anything. Maybe some students staying after." He kisses her this time. "I'll get you a key so you can just let yourself in."

"Already? I'm definitely going to rob you."

"Joke's on you, all our stuff sucks."

She leans up for a last long kiss before she steps out of his arms. "I'll be the judge of that. You should get home."

"I really should, yeah. Don't panic if I don't text back immediately tomorrow."

"It's the digital age, Bellamy. Instant gratification."

"I'm more about delayed gratification," he says with a smirk. "See you tomorrow, Clarke."

He's in something of a daze the whole ride back on the train, trying not to grin too much. Love-struck is a new feeling for him, and he would have thought he'd hate it, but if cartoon birds wanted to fly around his head, he wouldn't even be upset about it.

Miller is, of course, unimpressed.

"You're the sappiest person I've ever met," he says, before Bellamy's even said hi. "I didn't think you were coming back. Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again."

"I'd never leave you," Bellamy shoots back. "Don't be a dick or you don't get a cupcake."

"Fuck, you made cupcakes?"

"She's my soulmate, she gets cupcakes. And you get cupcakes because I think she's going to basically live here on weekdays."

"I figured." Miller looks him up and down, considering. "So, it's good? The whole soulmate thing. Lives up to the hype?"

"And then some," says Bellamy. "Still no sign of yours?"

"Not unless it's one of my Dragon Age companions." He rolls his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not jealous. I assume I'll like her. She's your soulmate, she can't suck that much."

"She's my soulmate," he agrees. It feels like he'll never get tired of saying it. It feels like the most amazing thing in the entire world. "You're definitely going to love her."


End file.
